Stegadyphus

Kevin M.

www.biust.botsa.org

Science Visit

We currently have some scientists from the Botswana International University of Science and Technology at the reserve. From the arachnology department, they are particular interested in the social spiders and were happy to find plenty of these at Limpopo Lipadi.

The spiders were identified as Stegodyphus domicola, and the scientist noticed some unique behaviors not seen elsewhere. Usually this species nests at the bottom of thorny bushes, while another species nests at the top. The competitor is missing at Limpopo Lipadi, and domicola species has happily filled the niche, with all the nests at high locations. They hope to come back for more interesting research.